


Camp Camp one shots based on Prompts

by fangirl530



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, especially not anything between david and the kids, none of this is meant to be shippy., please please don't make it out to be, there's also quite a bit of swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-14 16:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18480169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl530/pseuds/fangirl530
Summary: The title basically explains everything. I find prompts I like, and I write camp camp stories based on them. Warnings, if needed, will be put at the beginning of each chapter. I'll also add more characters as they appear. one more thing- some chapters may not be based on a prompt, but I'll specify if that's the case.





	1. Why the fuck is there a cat in my bed?

**Author's Note:**

> This was listed under funny OTP starters, though its not an OTP. Enjoy!

Max glared down at the intruder, lazily lying on his sleeping bag. It stared right back, looking up at him with a tilt of its head. 

“Mrow?” it said, blinking it’s big turquoise eyes. It got up, it’s tail flicked forward and curled around it’s paws as it sat down, and Max’s scowl deepened. 

“Neil,” he called to his friend. The amateur scientist was standing outside their tent, waiting for Max to tell him he’d finished changing. 

“Yeah?” 

“Why the fuck is there a cat on my bed?” 

“There’s a cat on you- oh,” Neil trailed off as he poked his head inside, catching sight of the intruding feline for himself. “There is.” 

“I know there is,” Max said irritably, rolling his eyes. “But why?” 

“I don’t know,” Neil said, stepping all the way inside. He went to the cat, kneeling close by and holding his hand out cautiously. The cat sniffed at it before rubbing its head against him, making a quiet “mrrp” noise. (thanks edgebug- they're a user on tumblr.) It closed its eyes in satisfaction as Neil petted its back, and he smiled. 

“It’s pretty cute.” 

“No,” Max interrupted. “No, no, no. do not get attached to it.”

“Why not?” Neil asked him, scratching the cat behind the ears. 

“There is no way David and Gwen will let us keep it, and I am not going on the cliche adventure of hiding a cat we’re not allowed to keep. It’s beneath us. And even if it wasn’t, we don’t have any food for it. We definitely can’t feed it the lousy excuse for food that we get,” he said, crossing his arms. 

“We could figure something out! And I’ll bet the other campers would want to help too,” Neil argued. “Even if David and Gwen do find out, they can’t fight all of us- you know they can’t.” 

“Okay, but should we really waste an attempt to take over the camp on a cat?” Max raised his eyebrows at the creature as it rolled onto its back. “I don’t thin-”

“Guys!” Nikki yelled, sliding into their tent. Max jumped, glaring at her as the flap slid shut. 

“Jesus Nikki, a little warning next time?” he snapped angrily. Nikki ignored him as her eyes fell on the cat. 

“I see you found our second camp mascot,” she said, beaming as she joined Neil and petted its ears. 

“You mean you left this cat here?” Neil said at the same time Max yelled

“Our what?!”

“Our second camp mascot!” she repeated cheerfully. “Isn’t she cute?” 

“Yes,” Neil said. “And I do want to keep her here- Max and I were just talking about that. But I don’t think we need a second camp mascot- we have the platypus, and she may not react well to having competition. She did eat her only living child.” 

“Finally,” Max said with an eye roll. “You’re starting to see reason.” 

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep her!” 

“Spoke too soon. You guys, I’m always up for a chance to mess with Gwen and David, but over a cat? Really?” 

“Yes, really.” Nikki picked the cat up and shoved her at Max. “just hold her for a second, and you’ll see!” 

Caught off guard, Max caught her in his arms and held her close. She put her paws on his shoulder and sniffed at his ear, then rested her chin on her paws and began to purr. Max’s eyes widened and he froze, unsure on what he should do. 

When the cat didn’t move or scratch at him, he smiled a bit. “Alright,” he said, trying to keep his face nonchalant. “She’s pretty cute.” 

Nikki and Neil smirked and slapped high five. “So you’ll help?” the former asked him excitedly.

“Yeah, I’ll help.” 

“Woo hoo!” 

“But we’re going to need to make some allies. Nikki, you- okay, hang on.” Max handed the cat over to Neil. “I can’t look tough and commanding holding a purring cat. Nikki, you go around camp and tell everyone you think will help us. But keep it subtle, so we don’t alert Gwen and David. Neil, you and I will look around and see if we can find anything suitable for a cat to eat. We’ll zip up the tent to keep her inside while we’re gone.” he clapped his hands. “Let’s move, guys!” 

Nikki rushed outside immediately, and Max waited impatiently for Neil to set the cat down before joining Max at the entrance. When he came out, Max zipped up the flap. 

While Nikki rushed around camp and got recruits, Max and Neil ran to the mess hall. 

“Do you see Quartermaster?” Max whispered as they snuck in. 

“No,” Neil whispered back. “I don’t think he’s here, but we should hurry- before he comes back. 

They moved into the kitchen and made quick work of opening all the cupboards and the refrigerator. They found a bunch of potatoes, some slabs of meat, hot dogs, eggs, and cans of sham. But nothing suitable for a cat. 

“No Max, we can’t ‘just give her sham!’” Neil said, closing the cupboard holding the meat. 

“Why not? It’s close enough to tuna. They both come in a can.” Neil looked disgusted. 

“Let's just keep looking.” 

“We’ve looked everywhere,” Max said. “Looks like we’re going to have to buy cat food.” 

“How will we do that? We can’t drive into town ourselves!”

“We don’t have to.” Max pulled out David’s phone and credit card (assuming that it is a credit card) and smirked. “Not when we have these. Keep watch- I’m going to see what there is to order.” he opened a tab and typed in best places to order cat food. He clicked on the first link that popped up- a website called chewy.com. 

A blue rectangle went across the top, with different options. The first said shop by pet. Max clicked it, bringing up a list of animals. When he tapped cat, several different lists of things for cats popped up. He clicked food, and the page switched to a bunch of different bags. He scrolled for a bit, scanning the different choices. He started to click on a bag called friskies, but a different one caught his eye. It said kitten chow, nurture dry food. 

Max realized they didn’t actually know the kitten’s age. She had been a little small, and she could always be a big kitten. He went with nurture, to be safe. He did a 6.3 pound bag, and added it to the cart. A notice popped up- free two to three day shipping with an order over $49. 

/We’d need it tomorrow,/ Max thought. Maybe they could get away with feeding her people food tonight, but it wouldn’t last three days without possible consequences. He went back to to the cats options, rapidly clicking through them and adding things to the cart. At the end, at $54.19, he had added a litter box, litter, a scoop, a cat bed, two bowls, treats, and a catnip ball. He created an account under David’s name, filled in the shipping information, put in the information on David’s credit card, and placed the order. That was it- everything would come, hopefully, tomorrow. 

“Are you done?” Neil asked. Max nodded. “Good- come on, let's get back to the cat. I don’t want to leave her alone for too long. She might get unhappy and start to meow, and get us caught.”

“Calm down,” Max ordered him. “She’s fine. She was sleeping when we left, remember? Cats sleep a lot. I bet she didn’t even notice we were gone.” still, Neil ran through the camp until he got to their tent. He came skidding to a stop in front of it, freezing in shock. 

“Max,” he said, panic filling his voice. “The door is unzipped!”

“What?!” Max broke into a jog, arriving at Neil’s side to stare at the tent flap. “That’s impossible! I know we zipped it- I did it myself!” 

“You don’t think she unzipped it, do you?”

“No of course not, dumbass,” Max snapped. “She doesn’t have opposable thumbs, and it’s way too high for her to reach with her teeth.” 

“Raccoons always get into things. What if one of them got into it? Oh god, what if it ate her?!” 

“Neil!” Max yelled. “First of all, raccoons are nocturnal- they’re all sleeping now. And second, why would they get into the tent when there is clearly no food? That’s their primary reason for getting into shit.”

“Right, right, i knew that,” Neil said, breathing in deeply. “Maybe Nikki?” 

“She wouldn’t take her out of the tent and risk getting caught. She’s the one who hid her here.” 

“Well maybe-” 

“Shh.” 

“But Max, we need to-” 

“Shut the fuck up! do you hear that?” 

Neil fell silent, and both boys heard quiet cooing noises coming from inside the tent. Carefully, Max moved the flap aside and peered in. when he caught sight of the source of the noise, he began snickering to himself. 

“Of course,” he whispered, shaking his head. “I should have figured that.” 

“What?” Neil asked, confused. Max smirked. 

“Follow my lead, I’ll show you.” he put one hand into his pocket and grabbed the tent flap, shoving aside as he strolled inside. 

“Well hello there David,” he said to the counselor, who was currently lying on the floor with the cat on his chest, purring in his face. 

“Max!” David yelled. “Neil!” his face split into a beaming smile. “Why didn’t you tell me you found a cat? She’s adorable!” 

“Isn’t she?” Neil said, crouching at David’s side to stroke the cat’s head. 

“We just love her,” Max said, making his voice syrupy sweet and prompting Neil to look at him in surprise. “Can we keep her David, please? We’ll take care of her, we promise!” 

David bit his lip. He wanted to say yes, and he would have, if it wasn’t only up to him. “We should probably ask Gwen…” he started to say. Max put his hand up. 

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” he said, dropping the act. “First, I already ordered everything she will need, and it’ll arrive tomorrow. By the way- here’s your phone and credit card.” he set them next to him and continued. “Second, Nikki is going around camp and telling everyone about this cat. We were going to get their help to take care of her and keep her a secret from you. Do you really think you and Gwen can take on all of us?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. 

But David wasn’t listening. His eyes were shining, and he had a huge, ridiculous smile on his face. 

“You guys worked together to hide this cat from us?” he asked. He looked like he might cry. “Oh, I’m so proud! Of course you can keep her! Gwen will be so happy to hear you all worked as a team.” 

“Will she really?” Neil asked him. “I mean, she hates the platypus…” 

“She doesn’t hate her,” David corrected. “She just… has mixed feelings.” Max rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, mixed between loathing and hate. But if you’re in, she can’t really argue.” he smirked. “I think this is the easiest we’ve ever won.” 

David stood, cradling the cat in his arms. “Still, I better show her to Gwen. Better she finds out from me rather then finding out on her own.” 

“Good point,” Neil said. “She might take it better.” 

David smiled at them warmly. “I’ll be back in a little bit. Think of same names, okay?” he left the tent and marched off across the grass, entering the counselors cabin. 

“Max! Neil!” Nikki yelled, dashing towards them with the other campers on her heels. “We just saw David with the cat! How did he find her? Do we need to take im’ down?” she cracked her knuckles. “I know a weak spot!” 

“Nikki!” Neil looked horrified. 

“What? I’m talking about his hands. I’ve already bitten them twice- I bet this time I can break the skin!” 

“No,” Max interrupted. “David is on our side- he wants to keep her too. He’s going to tell Gwen now. Actually, he told us to come up with some names.” 

“Oh,” Nikki said, sounding disturbingly disappointed. Then she brightened up. “What about cat? We have a platypus named platypus!”

“No, we just haven’t gotten around to naming the platypus yet,” Neil corrected.

“We should name her something cool,” Ered said, flipping her bangs. 

“Like Xelanette!” Nerris said excitedly. “That’s a great wizard name!” Harrison rolled his eyes. 

“Please. We should call her Misty- she was a famous magician. It’s a name both mysterious and magical!” 

“Excuse me,” Nurf cut in. “I think the obvious choice here is Nurf Jr.”

“Junior is only for boys, Nurf!” Preston said, scowling. Nurf scowled back, and got directly into the theatre kid’s face. 

“/Actually,/ Jr. is a term that can be used for both girls and boys, /Preston!/” Preston put his hands in the air. 

“Okay, okay! Sorry, I didn’t know.” 

“Well now you do.” Nurf crossed his arms and backed away, still scowling. 

“I think that could get confusing,” Harrison said. “Having two Nurfs running around.” 

“Exactly!” Nerris said. “Which is why we should go with Xelanette! It’s unique, there’s no way any campers with that name will come here.”

“Yes, but that name is stupid,” Harrison said, smirking at her. 

Nerris glared. “Well, you-” 

“What about Lucky?” a voice asked. All the kids turned to stare at the source, Space Kid. he continued. “It’s lucky that Nikki found her in the first place. And lucky that David is letting us keep her.” 

“Huh,” Max said, blinking. “That’s actually not a bad idea, Space Kid. Though maybe a little cliche.” He looked around. “All in favor?” most everyone nodded or gave a thumbs up. 

“It’s settled then!” Neil beamed. “Lucky the cat!” 

/Meanwhile, when the kids were picking a name…/ 

“Gwen!” David sang as he pushed open the door to the counselor’s cabin and marched inside. “I have a surprise for you!” 

“What, did the kids suddenly decide to behave for the day?” she asked. She was facing away from him while reading a newspaper, so she didn’t see the cat in his arms. All the better, in David’s opinion. 

“No, look! We have a second camp mascot!” Gwen turned, one eyebrow raised and her mouth open to ask a question. 

“What do you-” she froze as she caught sight of the cat, her gaze flicking down to the paper and back up again. 

“Isn’t she cute? Neil, Nikki, and Max found her and conspired with everyone to keep her a secret!”

“And… you’re happy about that?” Gwen asked warily as she studied the cat. 

“Of course! They worked together as a team!” he said, beaming. “I found out when I heard her meowing, and then I told Neil and Max we could keep her. Max already used my credit card to order supplies anyway, so we’re all ready! The campers should be working on names right now!” 

Gwen cringed slightly. This was going to be hard. “She is cute, David, but we can’t keep her.”

“Aw, why not? All the campers are already expecting her to stay, we can’t disappoint them! Come on Gwen, please? Do you really want to see all those unhappy faces?”

“No, it’s hard enough dealing with your’s,” she muttered under her breath before looking at him. “What I mean is… I’d love to keep her here, but we can’t. Look.” she held the newspaper up in front of him, revealing a flier for a missing cat. The picture looked exactly like the purring cat in David’s arms. 

“Missing cat,” he read. “Answers to the name firefly. Orange tabby with tur- turquoise eyes,” he choked out, his voice starting to wobble. “Oh, no. Gwen, what am I going to tell the kids? I promised we could keep them!” he looked her hopefully. “We could just not call them…”

“David,” Gwen said warningly. “What kind of example would we be setting for the kids if we didn’t?” David sighed.

“You’re right,” he said, handing Firefly over regretfully. “You better call now, before we get too attached.”

“We?” Gwen raised her eyebrows. “I think it’s more me. You’re already attached. Now go away. I can’t have you in here sobbing while I talk to them. You’d better tell the kids, anyway.” 

“Yeah…” he went to the door, then glanced back at her. “Are you sure we can’t-”

“David!” 

“Okay, okay, I’m going.” he stepped outside the door and spotted the kids as it closed behind him. He breathed in deeply and forced himself to walk toward him, his regular smile coming to his face, though maybe a bit forced. “Hey kiddos!” he said cheerfully. The looked back eagerly. 

“Where’s Lucky?” Nerris asked. “We want to meet her!” 

“Lucky?” David asked, confused.

“Space Kid suggested we call her Lucky,” Nurf said. “On account that it was lucky Nikki found her, and lucky you let us keep her.” 

David laughed nervously, and the campers narrowed their eyes. “Yeah, about that! You see, the thing is…” 

“Mr. David,” Dolph said, staring up at him with wide eyes. “Max told us you said Lucky could stay. Were you lying to us?” 

“No, of course not!” David said, frantically waving his hands back and forth. “I thought she could stay. But when I introduced her to Gwen, she showed me a flier for a missing cat. I’m afraid it’s for… Lucky.” 

“What?” Nikki asked him, her voice cracking. “You mean, we have to give Lucky back?” 

“Yeah,” David said, sighing. “Gwen is calling the family now.” the kids all looked disappointed, even Max. David bit his lip, feeling guilty. He didn’t want to upset them, but they would have found out eventually. Better they did now, before they could get too attached. But still… they looked so heartbroken. 

So he knelt and opened his arms wide. “Who needs a hug?” he asked, smiling at them gently. Max rolled his eyes. 

“Please. Like anyone wants to hug you. Especially after you an-” 

Nikki dashed into his arms and threw hers around his torso, holding on tightly. Space Kid joined her, and Dolph followed after. David held them close, watching in glee as Nurf grabbed Preston and held him tightly, squeezing his eyes closed. After a minute, Preston awkwardly put his arms around the bigger boy and patted his shoulder. 

Nerris and Harrison scowled at each other, crossing their arms, before Ered came between them and put her arms around them both. Both magic kids smiled a little, and Nerris held her arm out. Harrison put his out as well, and the both put theirs around the other’s back. 

Neil and Max stared at each other, nodded in mutual understanding, and patted each other on the shoulder. Close enough, David thought. After a minute, everyone pulled apart. 

“Okay,” he said, clearing his throat. “It’s getting late, campers. Start getting ready to turn in, okay?” he looked around, surprisingly getting no arguments. It must have been the long day they’d had. 

After all the kids were safely in their tents, David returned to the counselor’s cabin. 

“Hey,” Gwen said, glancing up from her book. “The family is going to come tomorrow to pick up Firefly. Are the kids alright?” 

“Yeah, they’re okay. I’m sure they’ll recover.” 

“And what about you?” 

“Me?” David laughed. “I’m fine! Why would I be-” 

“David.” 

“Ok,” he said, wilting. “I admit, I am a little disappointed. I really liked the idea of having a cat at camp.” 

“Yeah, it would have been cool,” Gwen said shrugging. “Too bad we can’t adopt one.” 

“Adopt…?” David stood up straight, beaming. “Gwen, your a genius!” he yelled, throwing his arms around her and spinning her around. He grabbed the keys and headed for the door. “I’ll be right back!” 

“Hold it right there,” Gwen said, snatching his arm and causing him to jerk back. “You are not going to the animal shelter to adopt a cat.”

“Why not?” David pouted. “The kids would love a cat! And even if they don’t, you and i would take care of her! And I can take her home at the end of the summer. I’ll do some research, we can make this work!” 

“David. Breathe.” Gwen sighed. “You can go to the animals shelter, but do not adopt anything without asking me first! And be back before the kids get up tomorrow. We don’t want to make them suspicious.” 

“Of course,” David said, bouncing in his toes, a ridiculous smile on his face. “Thank you, Gwen!” he dashed off the moment she let go, full on sprinting to the car. Gwen watched him, smiling in amusement- just a little. 

Maybe a cat wouldn’t be such a bad idea, if it made everyone so happy.

/The next day…/

“Rise and shine Gwen!” David’s voice said, full of cheeriness. “We’ve got to get the campers breakfast before the family gets here!”

“Fuck off, David,” Gwen grumbled. Still, she sat up and grabbed her clothes and hair brush before heading for the bathroom. When she’d gotten dressed, brushed and put up her hair, and splashed water into her face, she came back out and caught sight of David. 

He was smiling wide with his hand behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels. Gwen narrowed her eyes. 

“What did you do?” 

“Nothing!” David said. “I went to the shelter, looked at the cats, /didn’t/ adopt anything, talked to the shelter employees, and came back to camp!” 

“You didn’t adopt anything, huh? Then what is that rumbling noise?” Gwen crossed her arms and waited, smirking as David avoided her gaze. 

“Uh, well, you see… I found the perfect cat at the shelter last night, and…” 

“You adopted it.”

“No!” David shook his head. “I didn’t adopt her. I did the rent a cat program. They’ll let you keep the cat for about two months, to see how they fit in with your family. If things don’t work out, you can bring them back. I figured I’d take her back to camp, see how the rest of summer goes, then take her home and see how she adjusts. If everything goes well, then I’ll adopt her!” 

Gwen sighed, exasperated, but smiled at him. “Figures you’d find a loophole. Fine, we’ll see how this goes.” she went to the door, then paused, glancing back. “... can I meet her?”  
“Of course!” David knelt and brought a kennel out from under his bed, setting it on top. “Gwen, meet Snuggles. Though the shelter said we could change her name, if we don’t like it.” 

A cat stepped out and curled up on the bed. It had mixes of orange and brown, and a little gray. 

“The people said she likes most everyone, and she’s mostly an indoor cat. But she also likes to go outside occasionally- perfect for the camp.” 

“She is cute,” Gwen said. “I guess it can’t hurt to try.” she looked up at him. “How do you want to tell the kids?” 

David smiled. “I had an idea…”

…

Max stood with the other campers, watching the silver van drive away with Lucky. He steeled himself against any feelings of sadness; he’d barely had time to bond with Lucky, anyway. It wasn’t like they’d spent weeks together only to lose her. 

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he turned away and marched back to his tent. He spotted David running back to the counselor’s cabin. Normally he would have been suspicious- the counselor was head over heels for Lucky. It seemed strange that he would leave. But he just couldn’t muster the motivation to follow him. 

He went to the tent and shoved aside the flap, stopping in the entrance. A smile twitched on his face. 

A piece of paper was on the back. 

/A random cat has appeared! Unfortunately, it seems to have no home. Maybe it could stay with you heroes? You all seem like a good fit. But uh- you better ask for help, if you need it. In fact, I strongly suggest it./

“That idiot,” Max said aloud. But he crouched by the bed, stroking his hand over the head of the cat, smiling to himself. David may be an idiot, but he was a good camp counselor. Not that Max would ever tell him that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looked up all the stuff about chewey.com and the shelter myself, but like the other camp camp story, don't refer to this if you are planning to adopt a cat or order from their website. things change, after all! :)


	2. You're going out? In this?

“Everyone inside, quick!” David ushered the campers to the mess hall. Thunder had started to roll, and it was starting to sprinkle. It was getting harder by the second. 

“But I love the rain,” Nikki complained, dragging her feet as everyone else ran inside. “I want to stay out and play in it!” 

“Sorry Nikki,” David said, picking her up. “If it was just rain, I would be willing to let you. But this is a thunderstorm, and it might be dangerous.” as he said this, lightning flashed nearby. He quickly rushed to the doors and ran inside, slamming them behind him. 

“There you go,” David said, setting Nikki down. He looked around at the other campers. “We’ll wait the storm out in here.” 

A few of the campers looked grumpy, but they didn’t argue with him. Most of them spread out and started talking to each other, but Max approached him. 

“The platypus is still out there,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “She should be inside too. I’m going to look for her.” 

David beamed. “It’s sweet of you to worry Max, but I’m sure she can take care of herself. She’s probably curled up in a bush right now!” 

Max scowled. “I’m going to search anyway.” he grabbed the door handle and pulled on it, but it refused to open. He glared up at David- the counselor had his hand on it, keeping it from opening. 

“This isn’t about the platypus, is it?” he asked gently. Max sighed. 

“I need to go to my tent to get Mr. Honeynuts,” he muttered. “There. Happy?” 

“Your bear? Well why didn’t you say so?” David smiled down at him and ruffled his hair, despite the camper pushing his hand away. “I’ll get him for you!” 

“You’re going out?” Max asked as a boom of thunder shook the building. “In this?” 

“Of course,” David said. “You were going to. Why shouldn’t I?” he smiled at him warmly. “I’m going to get a bag from the kitchen, to put him in so he won’t get wet. I’ll be right back!” he walked off, and after a moment, Max joined Nikki and Neil at one of the tables. 

“What were you talking to David about?” Nikki asked as he sat down. Max shrugged. 

“It doesn’t matter.” as he said this, David came back out of the kitchen and headed for the door, a black trash bag in his hand. He smiled at Max as he passed by.

“I’ll be right back,” he called to him cheerfully, pulling the door open and charging out into the storm.

“He’s going out there? In this?” Neil asked. “Why?” he looked at Max. “Does it have something to do with what you two were discussing?” 

“Fuck off, Neil,” Max said. “I said it doesn’t matter. Besides, he’ll be back inside soon.” a beat passed. “And don’t say discussing. It’s weird.” 

A couple minutes passed by. Then four. Then five. Then six. Then-

“Nikki,” Neil interrupted. “Can you please stop counting the minutes?” Nikki shrugged. 

“It passes the time quicker.” Max frowned at the door. 

“Where is he? How long could it take to-” he stopped speaking abruptly and thought for a second. “Do the thing we talked about?” 

Neil looked like he wanted to say something, but the door flew open before he could. David stepped inside and put a big black bag on the floor. Max realized it was the trash bag he’d left with. 

“Hey kids,” he said, smiling as he closed the door. They all stared at him, taking note of his soaked appearance. He held out the bag. “I went to all of your tents and grabbed pillows and blankets,” he said. “I think we might have to spend the night in here.” 

“We?” Harrison asked. “Aren’t you going to go back to your cabin?” 

“No, I’m going to stay here with all of you. I don’t want you all to be on your own with the storm outside.” he sat the bag down and dug through it, pulling several of the blue blankets the kids used on their beds. “I’ll call your name and give you one of each,” he said. 

Max watched, unamused, as the counselor called everyone up one by one. “Hey Nikki,” he said. “I need a favor.” he whispered in her ear, and she beamed. 

“I’m on it!” 

“Nikki?” David called, pulling out a blanket and a pillow. Nikki walked up to him and took the blanket, unfolding it and spreading it out as far as her arms could reach. David watched her quizzically as she did. 

When she had it full spread out, she lunged at him and knocked him onto his back, straddling his waist as she rubbed the blanket up and down his chest and stomach, then his arms, ending with rubbing it over his hair. 

“He’s mostly dry now, Max,” she called over her shoulder. 

“Good job Nikki,” Max’s voice said back. “Stay there. I’ll tell you when we’re ready.”

“Got it!” Nikki threw the blanket over David’s head, plunging his world into semi-darkness. He felt her put her hands on his chest. “Don’t go move until they’re done,” she warned him. 

David smiled underneath the blanket. “I heard him, Nikki. Don’t worry, I won’t go anywhere.” he laid on the floor and waited. He had no idea what Max was planning, but how bad could it be? 

After a few minutes, the blanket was whisked off his head. He narrowed his eyes against the sudden light as Nikki scrambled off his waist, and hands took his arms and pulled him to his feet. Off to his left, two of the blankets were lying on the ground with pillows along the edges. 

“What’s that for?” he asked. 

“That’s where we’ll all sleep tonight, Max said. He rolled his eyes when David looked at him in surprise. “What, did you think we’d let you sleep on the bare wood?” 

“This is more efficient anyway,” Neil cut in. “We’ll take up less space then if we all spread out.” 

Ered and Nikki pulled David forward. Just before he stepped on the blanket, he remembered his wet boots. Pulling away from the girls, he knelt to untie them and take them off. While doing so, he became aware of the campers doing the same. 

He smiled to himself as he finished, then stepped onto the blankets and sat down. 

“Hey David,” Nikki said as she sat next to him. “Can you tell us a story? To pass the time until we have to go to bed?” 

“Of course, Nikki!” David beamed at her. “Lets see. Ooh, I’ve got it! So when I was going to camp campbell…” 

David talked for about an hour, telling the kids about his life as a campbell camper. 

Max leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. 

They really aren’t so bad, he thought. For David, at least. 

“And that’s why we always put on lots of mosquito repellent before we go out at night,” he said, finishing his third story. “Jasper was was itching fo-”

Thunder boomed loudly, cutting him off. All the campers jumped, and moved a little closer. 

“Boy, that thunder sure is loud,” Harrison said nervously. 

“It’s okay,” David reassured him. “I know it’s loud, but we’re safe in here. It won’t hurt us.” still, when the next boom came, the campers jumped. He watched as Nerris drew her cape around herself and shivered, and even Nurf hugged his arms. 

“I’ve got an idea,” he said cheerfully, beckoning them to come closer. “Let’s count the seconds between the flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder. We can measure how close the storm is, and we’ll be able to tell when it moves away.” They all nodded in agreement, and David pointed to the window. “Wait for the lightning to flash, then start counting.”   
The kids all watched the window until lightning lit it up. David led them in the count. 

“One… two… three… four...” thunder boomed before they got to five. 

“That means the storm is here,” David explained. “See, when the thunder booms, you divide the amount of seconds by five, and that tells you how many miles away it is. If we keep counting, we’ll be able to tell when it starts moving away.” the kids all nodded. Normally they would have scoffed or rolled their eyes, but they were willing to do anything to keep their minds off the storm. 

They counted and divided for a few minutes, each time only getting to four until the thunder cut them off. David started the count yet again. 

“One… two… three… four… five… six…” thunder boomed, and he smiled. “We got to six! The storms starting to move away!” 

“Yeah!” Nurf yelled, punching his fist in the air. “Turns out math is useful. I probably shouldn’t have thrown the book at my teacher.” 

“No, probably not,” David agreed, settling onto his back with his hands under his head. “Let’s keep at it!” 

They continued to count, each time getting at least a number higher then before. When the storm was almost three miles away, David noticed that most of the campers had grabbed a pillow and laid down, and were counting in their sleep. He counted them all, coming to nine. 

Frantically, he scanned them all again and named them in his head. Nikki wasn’t with them. As he realized this, he became aware of a weight on his arm. It was so light, he’d barely noticed it. When he looked down, he saw the source and smiled softly. 

Nikki had, at some point, decided to use his arm for a pillow. He attempted to move her, but she growled and moved closer to him and put an arm across his chest. 

“I suppose it won’t hurt her to stay there,” he whispered. He carefully reached over her to grab the abandoned pillow, putting it under his head. He looked across the blanket with a fond smile.

“Good night, kids,” he whispered before slipping into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as stated in the tags, the stuff with david and nikki is NOT meant to be a ship moment.


	3. Not a Prompt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the title says- it isn't a prompt. I thought of it on my own.

“David?” Gwen asked, glancing up from her book to look at her co counselor. 

David looked over at her and smiled. “Yes Gwen?” 

“I’ve been reading your tree book, and-”

“You have?” David interrupted, his eyes brightening. He beamed. “Oh Gwen, are you taking an interest in trees?” 

“No,” Gwen snapped. “I just wanted to look something up.”

“Oh. Well that’s still great!” he said, giving her an encouraging smile. 

“Anyway,” she said, scowling at him. “I was looking up what birch tree branches looked like, and it turns out Jermy was right. Those were pine branches.” 

“O-oh,” David said, smiling nervously. “Really? Well, I guess I made a mistake. It happens, you know?” 

“I do. But here’s the thing.” Gwen watched him closely. “You’re a huge nature geek. It’s one of the things I’ve begrudgingly come to love about you.” 

David gasped, and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. “Aw, Gwen!”

“Don’t,” she warned, pointing at him. “That statement does not leave this cabin.” 

“Got it,” he said, winking as he pretended to zip his lips. 

“My point is,” she continued. “How did a nature geek like you mistake pine for birch? They’re fairly easy to tell apart, and I’ve seen you reading this book when you're supposed to be sleeping. Enough that I’d bet you read it three or more times.” she leaned forward, staring at him. “So? Care to explain?” 

He shrugged. “Even geeks make mistakes sometimes. Nobody’s perfect!” 

“Okay,” Gwen said, still looking at him intently. “So you made a mistake. I suppose it happens. But why did you laugh at Jermy for mixing up the branches?”

“Like I told the kids, Gwen. just… sometimes. Sometimes you meet those people and…” he trailed off and shrugged. 

Gwen raised her eyebrows. “So you saw it fit to make fun of him? That doesn’t sound like you, David. You weren't wrong- you are the nice one. One of the nicest ones here. It’s not like you to make fun of a camper for trying to participate in camp activities and learn about nature.” he opened his mouth, and she held up a finger. “I’m not done yet! If that had been Max up there, or Nurf, or Ered, you would have encouraged them and told them how great they were doing. You would never shoot down a camper’s excitement to participate in camp activities. So again, I’m asking: why did you laugh at Jermy?”

“Uh…” David avoided her gaze, his cheeks flaming red. “I- I-” 

“You were trying to protect Max, weren't you?” David didn’t respond, and she continued. “You thought Max wasn’t going to make it, and when he insulted Jermy, all the campers would be mad at him for blowing it. So you blew it before he could.” 

“That- that’s ridiculous, Gwen!” David said, laughing nervously. “I had complete confidence in Max to make it through the challenge on his own! I just spoke without thinking. It happens to all of us, right?” 

“Sure,” Gwen said smiling. She winked at him. “If you don’t want anyone to know about your… mistake, I won’t say anything.”

“Thank you,” he said, sighing. Then he looked at her, panicked. “Not that there’ anything to tell!” 

“Of course not, David.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure that's why David laughed at Jermy. I have no proof, but that would be so sweet :)

**Author's Note:**

> I looked up all the stuff about chewey.com and the shelter myself, but like the other camp camp story, don't refer to this if you are planning to adopt a cat or order from their website. things change, after all! :)


End file.
